Free ‘Browser in a Box’ Runs Firefox 4 with Ultra Security

Security is an oft-debated theme in the ongoing web browser wars, but there's no denying that malware is a common problem for all of the leading contenders.

A new solution launched this week by German Sirrix AG, however, uses Firefox 4, Linux and virtualization to create what it calls a "browser in a box" that keeps all malware obscure and out of the user's main operative scheme.

Originally created at the quest of the German federal government, BitBox (short for "browser in the package") runs on Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 as well American Samoa Debian Linux, Ubuntu, OpenSUSE and Gentoo, allowing users to breakers the Web worry-autonomous, Sirrix says.

Safer Than Sandboxing

BitBox's security system derives from the fact that the web browser runs in a virtualized environment victimisation VirtualBox 4.04 and a curable implementation of Debian 6 Linux. The included browser–Firefox 4–then runs in a separate virtual machine with its personal OS, keeping it completely separate from the rest of the exploiter's system.

Unequal the simple sandboxing system of standard browsers, in other words, BitBox runs a completely unconnected guest operating system and keeps all browser bodily function isolated and away from the base of operations operating organisation.

Downloads, gashed-and-paste capabilities and printing are all kept secure; only a shared folder is in the theme operating system, accessible through a separate user news report. Uploads, meanwhile, are not enabled, nor is Net entree through and through the floor operating organization.

Perhaps best of all, each clock the browser is restarted, information technology gets reset to a certified boot image, thereby eliminating any malware that might have gotten through in the previous session.

An Enterprisingness Version

For users, BitBox is designed to flavour no different from any standard use of Firefox 4. The software is available for free download by individual users and requires no special expertise to instal, Sirrix says. Information technology's also available on DVD.

An extended enterprise version for centrally managed IT environments, meanwhile, offers additive features for a bung. In corporate settings, for instance, a tunnel between the BitBox browser and a central Internet gateway is transparently integrated, thereby ensuring a undeviating separation between the Cyberspace and the material intranet.

Client applications, then, pot access only the internal firm network, for representative, while BitBox is tunneled to the extracurricular and can access only Internet information in isolation.

A central management system, in the meantime, offers a simple way to manage security policies, configurations, certification and dispersion.

I couldn't find any indicant of BitBox's enterprise pricing, but hold codified them to find out and will post some updates. Meanwhile, if security is paramount in your business, this could be a browser to strain out.